Beta versus VHS and the acceptance of electronic brainstorming technology (1).(Issues and Opinions)

Abstract

This paper argues that much of the past research on electronic brainstorming has been somewhat myopic. Much as Sony focused on the quality of the picture on its Beta format, we as IS researchers have focused on the number of ideas generated as the dominant measure of electronic brainstorming effectiveness. When VHS killed Beta, Sony discovered that image quality was a secondary consideration for most VCR users. Despite the compelling research on its performance benefits, electronic brainstorming has not yet displaced--or even joined--verbal brainstorming as a widely used idea generation technique. This paper presents arguments that users may not be primarily concerned with the number of ideas generated when planning a brainstorming session, but rather may equally desire group well being and member support. We present theoretical arguments and empirical evidence suggesting that electronic brainstorming is not as effective as verbal brainstorming at providing group well being and member support. We believe that these arguments may also apply to other group and individual research areas and may also call for a reevaluation of the technology acceptance model (TAM). Finally, we suggest further research that may help electronic brainstorming avoid the fate of the Beta format.

Keywords: Electronic brainstorming, group support systems, technology acceptance model (TAM), technology adoption, brainstorming, idea generation, nominal group technique

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Introduction

In the early 1980s, the world was engaged in a heated debate over which video tape format was superior: Beta or VHS. The two formats had been developed by competing manufacturers and were in a dead heat in market share throughout much of the 1980s. This continued until one manufacturer made a breakthrough that enabled VHS to record more time on less tape. Despite the sharp decline in image quality that resulted, people still flocked to the VHS format so that they, too, could record 6 hours on a tape while Beta was stuck at 3 hours per tape. Although Beta did, eventually, develop a way to allow users to record 6 hours on one tape, it was too late. By that time, too much of the market share had swung to the VHS format, allowing it to achieve critical mass and the Beta format was no longer viable in the marketplace.

This shift happened despite the fact that the image quality of the Beta format was clearly superior to that of VHS, especially when compared to the quality of a 6-hour VHS recording. So why did Beta, the superior technology in terms of image quality, lose to VHS? Beta failed because Sony (Beta's creator) thought that users were more concerned with image quality than they were with the number of hours that could be recorded on a single tape. Because of this assumption, Sony focused its research efforts on keeping the image quality high, rather than on extending record time. They also felt that people would be willing to pay more for this quality, so the price of the Beta VCRs and tapes were set slightly higher than those of their VHS competitors. By the time they realized their mistake, it was too late for them to recover.